New Nintendo patent seemingly confirms magnetic Joy-Cons

Four Nintendo patents were made public Thursday, offering eager onlookers a detailed peek into the inner workings of the Nintendo Switch 2 console. One patent seemingly confirmed that the Nintendo Switch 2 will have a feature allowing players to use their Joy-Con controllers like computer mice — an intriguing gimmick that’s been rumored for months. Three other patents were published alongside the mouse functionality documents, all of which detailed the technology Nintendo came up with to keep its controllers connected to the main console. The original Nintendo Switch used a rail for Joy-Con controllers to slide into each side of the console screen and body, but when the Nintendo Switch 2 was revealed earlier this year, the Joy-Cons noticeably didn’t slide in — they snapped on. It’s been rumored for months that Nintendo would use magnets in its Joy-Cons, and the three patents filed on Thursday seem to confirm those reports. One of the three patents details how the controllers detach from the main body. Here’s how it’s described: > This game controller is detachably mounted to a body device that has a recess, that comprises a first magnet and a second magnet at the bottom of the recess, and that can execute game processing. The game controller comprises a first input unit, a protrusion, a first button, and a second button. The first input unit is provided on the front surface. The protrusion protrudes from a first lateral surface, and extends in the longitudinal direction of the first lateral surface. The protrusion is configured to fit in the recess. The first button and the second button are provided in the longitudinal direction in the top surface of the protrusion. The first button and the second button are to be pressed by a user. The first button is attracted to the first magnet by a magnetic force. The second button is attracted to the second magnet by a magnetic force. Basically, the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons have two buttons that must be pushed to detach the controller. Both buttons are attracted to their respective magnets by a magnetic force, which then causes the Joy-Cons to be attached or detached. The next patent seemingly details how this process works for an attachment — likely the little bit on the end of Joy-Cons that protects the plugs and such. The last of these three patents deals with the game housing and the electronic circuit inside that attracts the Joy-Con magnets to keep the devices connected. Here’s the abstract: > A main body apparatus as an example of this game device is attachable to and detachable from a controller. The main body apparatus comprises a housing and a magnet. The housing houses an electronic circuit. The magnet has electrical conductivity and magnetically attracts the controller so that the controller is mounted to the body device. The magnet is electrically connected to a ground of an electronic circuit. In a state in which the controller is mounted to the main body apparatus, the controller is attracted to the main body apparatus by the attraction force of the magnet. Aside from the abstracts on the first page of the filings, the patents are in Japanese; there are a lot of small details, but the abstracts describe the patent at its basic core. All three patent applications were filed in 2023 but published Thursday.